World ON THE COVER WBHS students Rachel Hines, Dana O'Neill and Sammy Dines were instrumental in planning the Darfur event. Making A Difference have th eDetroit Jewish News delivered to your door every Thursday for about W 248.351.5174, visit www.JNonline.us call (click the subscribe link) or fill out and mail the form below Ebill me 2 years @$88 payment enclosed charge my card # Visa ' MasterCard exp date signature(required) name phone# street address city state zip email address I I would like to be contacted about special offers and/or sending a gift subscription mail to: Detroit Jewish News • PO Box 2267 . Southfield MI 48034-2267 DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Please allow 2-3 weeks to begin delivery. In-state subscriptions only. Out of state price $75 for 1 year, $132 for 2 years. 20 A ri! 5 2007 JN funds to aid genocide victims in Darfur. Keri Guten Cohen Story Development Editor a dollar a week 1 year@$56 WBHS students raise awareness and iN hen West Bloomfield High School offered a new course last fall — the sociology of genocide — no one knew it also would teach students to become human rights activists. The more students learned about the Holocaust and genocides in Armenia, Rwanda and Darfur, the more deter- mined they were to make a difference. Out of their passion came "Mending a Broken Promise: Darfur the 21st-cen- tury Genocide,' an event on March 21 that drew 650 people to the high school to listen to poignant speakers and raise funds to help the victims of Darfur. Learning and activism were key ele- ments running through the event that included student-designed displays offering information about genocide; an "empty bowls" project where students sold ceramic bowls they'd made to raise money to buy solar cookers in Dafur and also to help feed the hungry locally; more fundraising through the sale of student-designed T-shirts, carabiners and rubber bracelets; and petitions to sign that would be sent to politicians to influence their actions. More than $10,000 was raised through student efforts, with the major- ity of the funds going to the American Jewish World Services: Sudan Direct Relief Fund. Funds from the empty bowls project benefited the Jewish World Watch: Solar Cooker Project and Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Oakland County. Speakers included Rene Lichtman of West Bloomfield, a Holocaust survivor Carabiners and bracelets were sold to raise funds. who had been a hidden child; Thomas Kamilindi, a Rwandan who survived genocide at the Hotel Rwanda; and Sulimon Giddo, the Sudanese CEO of Darfur peace and development. "Each speaker brought their own unique experience to the event and that made us realize that this is a human issue that affects every one of us',' said WBHS student Dana O'Neill. Many of the students came to under- stand the dire conditions in Darfur because of the new class initiated by teacher Mara Hoffert. "I realized this class alone wouldn't afford me an opportunity to act',' said senior Allison Shipper. "Together with a bunch of other students, we knew we could make a difference and we are proud that we did" Hoffert says she was impressed by her students' efforts. "People always talk about making a difference and these students made that difference,' she said. "Their dedication to this cause affected people from across Michigan. "The support from each and every person my students reached out to was unwavering. I am proud to be a mem- ber of this community where people understand their place in a global con- text and care to act." .7